Improvement in chicken coop and crate



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. J. 000K. Chicken 000p and Grate. No. 195 071. v Patented Sept. 2,I879.

Witnesses.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Sept. 2,1 879.

No..219,o71.

WITNESSES.

PHER. WASHINGTON D c UN TED STATES PATENT OFFIoE.

GEORGE J. COOK, OF'LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT IN CHICKEN COOP AND CRATE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 219,071, datedSeptember 2, 1879; application filed July 12, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. COOK, of the city of Louisville, county ofJefferson, and

State of Kentucky, have invented an Improved Chicken (loop and Grate, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates, generally, to the construction of a chicken coopand crate having a plain board bottom composed of two equal sectionshinged at its longitudinal center, so that the two parts will folddownward and lap together, and having its top made of wooden side slatsand cross-slats, andalso hinged like the bottom, and having its sidesand ends made of wire bars, so bent and shaped as to allow the top andbottom to hinge upon them and turn down together, so that the wholestructure will occupy a comparatively small space when not in use, or tobe transported from place to place. But to describe the same more indetail, it relates, in the first place, to the hinged side wall of thecoop and crate, composed of wire rods, each bent into the general formof a rectangular hook, in combination with the recessed wooden sideslats of the bottom and top; in the second place, to the construction ofthe body of the end walls of like wire rods, bent back and forth betweenthe top and bottom, leaving suitable open spaces, and the bents of thewire, where they touch the bottom and top, respectively, hinged theretoby means of staples, so that they will act as hinge-rods when the topand bottom are folded together; and in the third place, to a combinationof devices, one of which is placed at the hinge-joint on each side ofthe coop and crate, the object of which is to regulate and facilitatethe folding of the four walls, top, and bottom together. My saidinvention will, however, be more fully described hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents aperspective of a coop and crate embracing myimprovement in itsconstruction in its folded-up condition; Fig. 3, a like view of the sameunfolded and ready for use; Fig. 2, a detail view of one of the wirebars of which the side walls of the structure are made; Fig. 4, a likeview of the combination of devices before mentioned used to connect thetwo sections of the top together, and

to secure the accurate folding and unfolding of the two sections of thewhole structure together; Fig. 5, a detail view, in perspective, of theunder sides of the side pieces, 0, of the top, and of the plate X, andof the staples h; Fig. 6, a like viewof the end wall, composed of asingle wire and its hinged connections, with the wooden frame foldedupon the bottom; and Fig. 7, a like view of a different construction ofan end wall.

lindicates the bottom; G, the side slats on the same, and n the recessesin the side slats of the top and bottom for the wire bars I), of whichthe side walls are composed; O, the side pieces of the top, and a thecross-bars of the same. X is the plate of the hinge connecting the twosections of the top together, it being connected to the under side ofside piece, 0, by means of the staples h, one of which is passedthrough. each of the two eyes in the ends of that plate, and itsextremities embedded and clinched in the wood of said side piece, andthus the plate is hinged to the two sections of the top.

2' is the guide-bar, provided with the keyhole 6', extending down fromthat plate into which it is firmly fixed. g is a guide-plate, providedwith a suitable slot for the reception of the guide-bar 2', upon whichthe guide-plate slides up and down in the folding and unfolding of thecoop and crate, and the guide-plate g is mounted upon and attached to,by hinge connections g Wire rods ol, and these rods havehinge-connections at t with the bottom I.

j indicates the end wall, composed of a single wire bent into the formshown, and hinged to the top and bottom by staples k, as plainly shownin Fig. 6. This is the construction which I prefer for the end wall. Thesame, however, maybe constructed, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, of bothslats and wire, the slats being recessed near each end for the wire,which is to be wrapped around them in the recesses, and the wholestructure hinged to the top and bottom, as shown in theseligures.

In detail view (shown in Fig. 7) the ends of the "side pieces, 0 and O,are broken away in order to show the form into which the wire is bent.After being wrapped around the wooden slats p it forms a loop, whichpasses through recesses in side pieces, 0 and (1', in the top andbottom, and turns in the recesses in the same manner that bars I) turnin the recesses provided for them.

7' 'r and a compose a sliding gate, by means of which access may be hadto the interior of the coop and crate, and s is a pin by means of whichthe gate may be secured; but no claim is made herein for the slidinggate.

f is a key to be inserted into the key-hole 0 when the coop and crate isunfolded for use, to hold it in that position.

The wire bars I), which are fully shown in Fig. 2, have the general formof rectangular hooks, and, when in position in their recesses, attachthe top and bottom together, and at the same time act as hinges andallow them to fold together, as shown in Fig. 1.

Upon examining the construction of this coop and crate it will bemanifest that the up it will not only occupy much less space than whenunfolded, but it will be much less liable to injury from rough handling.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The hinged side wall of a chicken coop and crate, composed of thebent wire rods b, in combination with the recessed wooden slats O and G.the bottom l, and cross-bars a, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The end wall composed of wirej, bent as GEORGE J. 000K.

Witnesses:

W. J. OLEMERsON, WM. H. WATTS.

